kthorne@umich.edu
This is a large quilt, about 56 X 56. It hangs on my sewing room wall. 2004
There are more quilts to view, see sidebar for categories.
Well, I didn’t know about the engagement when I started and finished this queen sized quilt, but my nephew and his now-fiancée just got engaged yesterday. And I just presented their quilt to them yesterday also! They spent time looking at the fabrics and trying to see where one is repeated in another spot. That could keep them busy for quite a while!
This one is lots of strips of blue fabric, all from my collection. I wanted the center to be lighter than the outer blocks. And then I added a dark border that also featured strip blocks on point. It was quilted by the S & B quilters in Pinckney. I’m sure the happy couple will stay warm under this one.
Under construction, on design wall:
I recently saw a quilt (someplace online, I couldn’t tell you where) that combined a traditional 9-patch (made of 9 squares) with angled crosses on top of each patch . I liked the idea that the crosses were wonky and irregular.
This week I plunged into my considerable collection of plaids, and pulled out some darks and lights to make the 9-patches. Then I had the idea to use the BACK side of the patches as the front of my piece. That meant that the seams are showing on the front, and would become frayed and textural once washed. I did nine of the blocks in plaid, then selected some bright printed fabrics for the crosses. I stitched a cross-grid over the whole piece. Everything you see on the finished quilt had the seams exposed and frayed (I washed it). You could call it “messy” or just “different”. I love the result! It speaks to the traditional quilt style but has a spontaneous feel with those crosses. What would the “quilt police” say?
Detail:
I just finished this quilt, meant for the back of our sofa. This is where our cat Ginkgo sleeps every night. The old utility quilt I had been using on the sofa back has been through lots of washings. And, it was never meant for a sofa back. I realized one day that I had never made a quilt for MY house! I’ve made about 20 bed-sized quilts–all are in the possession of family members.
I wanted to make something “modern”, with a simple pattern and interesting fabrics. And it had to harmonize with the sofa, of course. I like this zigzag pattern, it’s made of half-square triangles, a building block of so many quilt patterns. The finished size is 54 x 64 inches. And I put a zigzag on the back, so it can be used in two ways. I chose an all-over pattern for quilting, using my mid-arm machine.
The back, and detail.
I recently had art quilts in two local gallery shows for Jan/Feb. Both shows did very well, in terms of sales. Now… where next to show my work?
I attend an aerobic dance class at Jazzercise 6 times a week. I have enjoyed getting to know the owner, the teachers, and the other students (and, it’s a great workout!). It’s a nice facility with lots of blank wall space! Hmmm.. The owner likes to decorate with holidays and seasons. She and I started talking about showing some of my quilts. I brought a few in and we talked about how to hang them. She immediately bought one! And I was showing another when a student asked to take it home to “try out” on her wall. It was sold the next day! This is a very informal arrangement and I don’t know how long I’ll be showing pieces there, but it is certainly nice to have another venue for display.
The owner’s wall decoration for “Spring” included two of my floral-theme pieces and some paper blossoms. Everyone loves walking into the room and getting a nice boost of color while we are waiting for the gray and brown around here to be replaced by green.
This is an “older” piece, probably about 2010. I wish I had a better photo, but alas this one has already gone to a new owner. The corner fabric was a hand-dyed piece I bought from the dyer person. Love it. I also like the way the circles seem to float above the backgrounds.
Detail:
Just finished this one, it is about 55″ wide. I love stripes, and I’m always imagining projects to use them. And triangles can be arranged in so many different ways. I used both straight line quilting and leaf pattern on this.
Detail:
It’s a picture of pansies in my blue pots, on the deck last year. We are yearning for spring! Meanwhile, I’ve been finishing the top of a bed quilt, and getting a few UFO’s out to evaluate what to do with them. I must admit that some of them would be best made into cat blankets for the humane society! But I will get on with a few of them. Stay tuned on that.
